The Unchosen One

by MagnetBolt

Epilogue: At The Very Beginning

“Twilight!” Somepony yelled, shaking her. The alicorn groaned and tried to sit up, feeling weak.

“Spike, it's too early... open the library later...” She tried to grab her blankets and roll over but she didn't have any blankets. And the stone floor was rapidly becoming uncomfortable.

“Twilight, get up!” The shaking continued. Twilight rubbed her eyes and looked around. She was in the old palace. How had she gotten here? She remembered fragments of a dream, but it was all fading away, lost like morning mist. She was somehow sad, though, like she'd lost something, and it was so profoundly gone that she couldn't even properly remember what it was.

“What happened?” She asked, looking up at- “Rarity? What happened to your mane?”

“You really don't remember?” Rarity asked. Twilight shook her head.

“You were evil a-and tried to destroy Equestria,” Pinkie Pie supplied, quietly. “Trixie told us to run and get Cadence and when we got back y-you were in a big cocoon thing.”

“You put Rainbow Dash in the hospital,” Rarity said, quietly. “Fluttershy is staying with her. She wanted to make sure Dash wasn't left alone.”

“What? But- I didn't-” Twilight shivered.

“We know, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “Y'all were possessed by some kinda magical amulet thing.” Parts of the nightmare Twilight had been having rushed back to her. She could see it, like looking through a dirty mirror. Just little parts of what she'd done. As it filled her mind, she paled and swooned, almost fainting.

“Woah there, stay with us, Rarity don't have her fainting couch with her and y'all just woke up.” Applejack put a steadying hoof on her shoulder. “Y'all look like yer back to normal. I don't rightly know what Trixie did but that Element of Dominance thing is totally gone. D' you remember what in the hay happened?”

“There was something about dreaming but- Trixie! What happened to her?!” Twilight gasped. She remembered hurting her. Badly.

“Luna's lookin' after her. Celestia's still fixin' the mess you made. Cadence managed to undo whatever you did to Celestia, but she had t' go off and do somethin' in the Empire. Wasn't really specific on what. Seemed like she was annoyed we'd bothered her t' be honest. Then Celestia and Luna took us out here and, well...”

Applejack turned her head. Twilight followed her gaze. Celestia was blazing as bright as the morning sun, her mane just a wavering banner of plasma, the Pisa Sol hovering over her head. The stars above were sliding into their old positions one at a time.

Twilight couldn't tear her eyes away from the display of power for a few moments, but when she did she saw Luna sitting in the shadows over a still form. Twilight felt fear wash over her, and she got to her tired hooves and ran over. Trixie was lying still, and for a moment Twilight was sure she was dead. Then she saw the slow, shaky movement of her chest, almost invisible under the dented armor and matted coat.

“What did I do to her...” Twilight whispered.

“Thou are not to blame, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, softly. “The Nightmare was twisting your mind. I have some experience with just what that is like.”

“Is she-” Twilight reached out to touch her and stopped short, pulling back.

“I do not know. After the beating her body has taken, and the effects of the artifacts, the breaking of the curse... no pony can say what will happen to her.” Luna sighed. “We are going to take her for treatment once my sister has finished putting right what the Nightmare caused. I dare not move her, so we will have to teleport over the distance.”

“What should I do?” Twilight asked, quietly. Luna looked at her and covered her with a comforting wing.

“Thou will have to do what I have done, and work to earn their trust again. Thou may have an easier time of it than I did, as few know what thou have done and your bonds of friendship are truly mighty.” Luna smiled slightly. “If you mean in more practical and immediate terms, I would suggest doing little until things have calmed down.”

“What happened to the Element?” Twilight asked.

“Tis destroyed. You and Trixie were inside the cocoon, as thou are now. The Element was there as well, sundered." Luna nodded to where the broken amulet lay, the gem cracked and blackened and the setting twisted and tarnished as if by aeons of time. "Tis possible the conflux of energy had simply destroyed it. My Moonlight Butterfly is one of the most powerful artifacts in Equestria, and might have been able to simply shatter the Element of Dominance.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked, looking down. “I remember a few things but I feel like I forgot a lot more.”

“Trixie used an ancient magical artifact to lock you both in a dream world. you spent...” She paused. “A very long time in there. But it was in a dream, where a thousand years can pass in the blink of an eye. Trixie probably won't remember much of it either. But... I think they were good dreams, in the end. It just took a long time to get things right.” Luna smiled. “I was able to catch the taste of the dreams, though the power and speed of them was far too much for me to enter them directly.”

Blazing light loomed over the gathered ponies as Celestia walked back into the room, overflowing with power. Twilight shielded her eyes, and the glare slowly faded as Celestia dimmed.

“It is done,” Celestia said, simply. “Luna, reopen the archive so I can place this back where no one can misuse it.” She didn't look at Twilight. Luna nodded, and the sky was cast into shadow as an eclipse blotted out the sun again. Celestia left, avoiding her student.

Twilight watched her go. “She's really angry...”

“She's always like that when she has to use that power,” Luna said. “It's why we stopped using those artifacts and put them beyond easy reach. They change the ones who use them. We were becoming something we didn't wish to be.”

“Like what I became...” Twilight said to herself.

“Yes. Now you know why we don't wield the power we once did. Once the power is greater than you, it becomes a question of who is really in control.”

Rainbow Dash was expected to make a full recovery. The break to her wing was severe, but the physicians were amazed at how quickly and well it was healing. They were expecting her to be up and about before long, and her eyesight was already back to normal thanks to a few applications of dispel effects.

Pinkie Pie required more careful treatment. With some effort, the implanted memories were suppressed, and she was quickly back to her normal self. The doctors expected she'd have nightmares for quite some time, but she was one of the most resilient ponies they'd ever met, and she had her friends to count on if they surfaced again.

Applejack was too tough to have been hurt badly merely by being nearly lynched. She'd refused medical treatment, not that she needed it. She was too busy making sure all her friends were recovering quickly.

Rarity's mane was ruined. There was no denying that. She'd requisitioned a mirror, brush, and scissors to try and come up with a new hairstyle. After several hours of effort she'd come up with something that would no doubt become the new standard in Canterlot for the coming season. Disaster had been narrowly avoided thanks to her fashion skills and pretending she'd meant to look like that all along.

Fluttershy, oddly, hadn't been hurt at all despite everything that had happened. Not even a hair in her mane was out of place.

Twilight sat outside of the operating room, the guards watching her as much as they were keeping others away. Luna sat with her. Twilight knew, like the guard, she was there to keep others safe from Twilight in case the Nightmare should appear again. It made her skin crawl, but she was more worried about what was going on in the operating room than about her own status.

The door opened, and Celestia and the head doctor, Steady Hooves, walked out. The dark gray pegasus mare took off her mask and sighed. Celestia leaned up against the wall for support, looking drained. Luna stood and walked over to her, the princesses whispering to each other quietly, too low for Twilight to make it out.

Twilight had incredible self control sometimes. And she was still feeling like she should just follow orders quietly and that she shouldn't interrupt. Because of that, she was able to hold out for almost fifteen seconds before she stood up.

“Well?!” She demanded.

“There were some complications,” Steady Hooves said, rubbing her head. She looked at Celestia. The alicorn sighed and stood up straight.

“I must discuss things with my sister. With the Black Archive being opened and the fate of this Element of Dominance uncertain and then this...” Celestia rubbed her eyes. She looked tired. Twilight had never seen her so drained. “We must make certain that the people's faith is not shaken. We will have to make an address to the nation, and a private debriefing to the court...”

“Those can all be taken care of later, sister,” Luna said, softly. Celestia shook her head.

“You were the one saying we needed to be strong, Luna. Perhaps you'd like to take over some of those duties?” She smiled. “I have wanted to give you more responsibilities, and I'm sure you'd do a good job at letting them know that nothing is wrong.”

“Only if you stand beside me so they are sure I haven't banished you to the sun,” Luna joked. Celestia gave her a tired smile.

“Now come. I want to know about any other surprises you've left me from the bad old days. I've already got a headache and I'd like to avoid any future surprises.” Celestia started walking. Luna swallowed and started after her, looking embarrassed.

“Wait, what about Trixie?!” Twilight asked. Celestia stopped and looked back at the doctor, nodding. Steady Hooves looked at Twilight.

“Come with me.”

Trixie was sleeping in the hospital bed. She was a mess of bandages, obvious even under the blanket. Twilight looked at her, feeling helpless.

“I was told some of what happened to her,” Steady Hooves said, staying at the foot of the bed. “It's something of a minor miracle she's alive at all, though I suppose her condition lends itself to that.”

“Her condition?” Twilight asked.

“We don't know exactly what to say. No one could have predicted the side effects. First there was the damage to her body. A lot of internal bleeding and broken bones. Then, between the curse she was already under, and the influence of multiple magical artifacts, not to mention ingesting one... well, if half of what our readings show is true, that last part was probably the worst of it. All that energy bouncing back and forth inside her with nowhere to escape until the curse boiled away. I read the abstract you put together on that curse to try and get a handle on what I was dealing with, but it's probably going to take a team of scholars years to figure it all out.”

“Doctor!” Twilight yelled. “Just tell me what's going on!”

Steady Hooves sighed. “I just want you to be properly prepared.”

“Is her condition permanent?”

“Oh, I should think so,” Steady Hooves said, nodding. “At least, I don't think there's any way to safely do anything about it, and certainly not without her consent.”

“What does that mean?!” Twilight's eyes went wide.

“Please be quiet, you're going to-”

“Ugh... where am I?” Trixie asked, her eyes fluttering open. Steady Hooves and Twilight rushed over to the side of her bed.

“You're in the hospital.” Steady Hooves took out a small light and shone it into Trixie's eyes. “How are you feeling?”

“Trixie feels like she hasn't been given enough painkillers. Her head is pounding and her ribs feel all wrong.” She groaned. “And you have the bandages on funny.”

“You are a very fortunate individual,” Steady Hooves said. “You have been involved in the largest magical event since the reign of Discord, and you survived to tell about it.”

“Barely,” Trixie noted, sighing and sitting back.

“Trixie, I'm sorry,” Twilight said, tears in her eyes. Trixie looked at her.

And smiled. “Just remember that our little scuffle counts as at least two wins for me. Trixie is getting pretty good at actually winning magical duels.”

Twilight sniffled and returned the smile. “Yeah. Even against ponies a lot more powerful than you are. I guess Luna was right that being clever is better than being strong.”

“And don't you forget it,” Trixie said. “Trixie just hopes that beating you won't impact her chances at getting that high-paying personal guard spot.”

“I can't think of anymore more qualified to protect me,” Twilight said, smiling sadly. “Or to protect other people from me if this happens again.”

“It won't,” Trixie said. “Trixie will sit on you if she has to, just to make sure.”

The doctor coughed, getting out a small tray with a few labeled containers and needles.

“I'd like to get some samples of your blood, hair, and feathers,” the doctor said. “I need to run a few tests, and I'd like to do the same for you too, Princess Sparkle. I'd be curious to see the different effects being so close to the epicenter of the event had on the two of you. It would make a wonderful research project. Is it too much to ask for samples of your brain tissue?”

“Trixie thinks you're the one who needs to have your brain tissue examined. Twilight is the only one with wings. Well, Trixie supposes you have wings too. But you know what she means.”

Steady Hooves sighed. “Right, one thing at a time. As I've said, you've been exposed to a great deal of magical energy, both inside and outside your body. And in the delicate state you were in, well, you were very close to death when you came in. Most ponies would have been killed just from the internal bleeding.”

“Trixie isn't most ponies,” the showmare smirked. “She has always been tough.”

“Indeed,” Steady Hooves said, not disagreeing. “I saw the condition your shoulder was in. But it's more than just being tough. A normal pony would be in a coma for a week recovering from the shock to their bodies.” She put a hoof to Trixie's head. “Hm. Normal temperature. No sign of infection. But I suppose that's probably not something you need to be too worried about anymore.”

“Doctor, what are you trying to say,” Twilight asked, frowning. “Is she okay or not?”

“Given some rest and relaxation, I should think so,” Steady Hooves shrugged. “I want to at least keep her overnight for examination, though.”

“But... Trixie knows she isn't that tough. She probably needs surgery. And physical therapy. And at least some time to let the wounds heal. You can't just kick Trixie out of the hospital!” Trixie sat up, pulling the sheet around her body protectively. “Trixie appreciates that the painkillers you have her on are working well, despite her headache, but Trixie knows she was pushing her limits before Twilight- before the Nightmare kicked her flank all around the castle.”

“You aren't on any painkillers,” the doctor said, calmly.

“That's impossible! Trixie's shoulder feels fine unless-” She gasped. “Did you use some kind of secret healing magic on Trixie?!”

“I'm a doctor, not a sorcerer. There wasn't much need. Once you'd gotten some sleep your body started healing quite quickly on its own,” Steady Hooves said. “Though I suspect that's normal. I've worked here in Canterlot long enough to have some idea of how it works.”

“Well Trixie should hope so!” Trixie said, frowning and holding the sheet up. “It's basic medicine that bones don't heal overnight.”

“Not for a normal pony, no,” the doctor agreed. She sighed and grabbed the sheet from Trixie, pulling it away to expose her body. She was indeed covered in bandages. All four legs were wrapped to some extent. Her shoulder and across her body. Even her wings.

“Wings?!” Twilight and Trixie yelled at the same time.

“So, how about that plumage sample?” Steady Hooves asked, smiling sheepishly.